Friction-clutch.



PATENTED NOV. 26,1907.

W. J. HILLIARD. PRICTION CLUTCH. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 27. 1907.

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INVENTOR BY v " ATTORNEY sa.. .a f 7 WITNESSES M. 6. MLV/.

No. 872,062- PATBNTED NOV. 26, 1907. W. J. HILLIARD. IRIGTION CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED JULY27. 1907.

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- the shell is fitted a friction ring 5, the outer UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

WILLIAM J. HILLIARD, OFy ELMIRA, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE HILLIARD CLUTCH MACHINERY COMPANY, O F ELMIRA, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.v

FRicTIoNcLUTcH.

Specification lof Letters Patent;

Patented Nov. 2e, ieovl To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I,-WILLIAM JL HiLLrARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elmira, in the county of Chemung and State of" New York, have inventedcertainnew and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches, of which the following is a specification.'

This invention relates-to improvements in friction yclutches of the disk type, my object bein to rovide a clutch of this character whic wil be'simple, compact, and owerful, and which will operate equally we at both high and low sy eeds.

' A further object is to avoid the use of arms and levers in the setting up and release mechanism, thereby eliminating the effects of centrifu al force inoperating the clutch at hi h s ee s; and a final object is to provide the c utch with a friction ring and grip ing 'disks so arranged-and'operated as .to e set up gradually with aA owerful grip, and to be lffiuickly released, al with a minimum of efort. i

-I attainmy objects by constructing the clutch in the manner illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure. 1 re resents a longitudinal section through the c utch; Fig.v 2, an end view, looking to the left in Fig. 1; Fi 3, a transverse section on the line a-a in ig. 1; and Fi 4, a detail of the spiral gear and'rack, wliich constitutes the operating mechanism.

Like -numerals refer to like parts inthe several views.

For the urpose of illustration I have shown my c utch as app 'ed to shaft transmission. For this purpose a sleeve 2 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 1, said sleeve being adapted to have' a pulley fastened thereon. y At one end of this sleeve is a shell 3,- which may be either formed integrally therewith, or made separate and fastened thereto in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. The shell 3 on its inside perimeter is provided witha number of ribs or fins 4, and` Within erimeter of which is notched to e'noage said iin's,` thereby providin for longitu inal motion of the ring in the s ell. I may, however, form the fins on the ring and provide grooves in the shell to lock the ring and shell to ether; an obvious transposition of parts. .T e ring is preferably provided with a pluralit oftransverse o enings in which are fitte in'- serts 6-of fi er, or other suitable material,

i said inserts. rojecting a slight distance beyond the s aces of the ring at each side. At the outside of the friction rin is a disk 7, provided with a hub 8 which is eyed at 9 to the shaft 1. A second disk 10 is mounted to slide u on the hub 8 at the inside of the ring 5, an is coupled to the outside-disk so as to rotate therewith. As herein shown the inside disk is provided with a hub'grooved to fit-the fins 1 1 on the hub 8, whereby rotative power will be transmitted fromA the hub 8 to oth disks and'thence tothe friction rin or vice versa, according to which member o the clutch is/the driven and which the driving member.

To move the inside disk so as to clamp the friction ring between the two disks I provide apluralit of bolts 12, (preferably 3 in number, in or er to' properly-distribute the ing screw threaded enga ement with the inner disk. Fastened to t e outward ends of these bolts are spiral gears 13, the inward faces of which enga e ball bearings 15, formed on the outer ace of the disk 7 in order to avoid friction at these oints w en setting u lthe clutch. Outwar movement of the bo ts is prevented by pins 14inserted therethrough inside of disk 7. The spiral gears are operated by means of racks 16 fastened to a shifting sleeve 17, said racks bein preferably cut from round bars, and mounte to slide in holes drilled into the hub 8. I` thus provide a' direct rotative connection between the bolts and the shifting sleeve,

doin away entirely with intermediate links andv evers and the effect of centrifugal force thereon in operating the clutch. lThe s )iral teeth on the gears and racks are so inc ined` that when the sleeve is pushed to the left in Fig. 1, or toward the clutch, the bolts 12,will be rotated in the hthe disk 10 towar s isk 7, 'thereby placing ro er direction to move both disks in gripping engagement with the By providing the friction ring with pro- 4 jecting inserts, the contiguous surfaces of the ring and gripping disks are spaced apart so that there can be no adherence between them, such as produced by suction, or by the surfaces becoming gummed with oil and sticking together. The inserts act to scrape the gripping surfaces, clean, thereby insuring a non-slipping engagement when the disks areset up against the ring, and providing for the instant and ready release of the clutch parts when the sleeve and racks are thrown out. In setting up the clutch, it will be noticed that the spiral gears are pressed against the ball bearings during the clamping action ofthe bolts. fUpon the release of the clutch the spiral gears are turned in the opposite direction, and as they have no particular work to do, the pins 14 are sufficient to hold the' bolts against outward movement.

Various modifications in the construction of the several parts ma be made without departing from the spirit of my invention thus, the friction ring may be applied directly to the inside perimeter of a fly wheel; or may b'e otherwise attached to a driving or driven member. The inserts may be omitted, and the disks arranged to engage the friction ring direct; also different forms of inserts may be employed. I may also employ l one or more additional rings and disks.

This clutch will be found particularly well adapted for automobile purposes, where the motor shaft is to be coupled to the transmission mechanism. Y What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. In a friction clutch, the combination with a friction ring, of two gripping disks positioned on opposite sides of said ring, bolts mounted to rotate on one of said disks and mounted to rotate on one of said disks andv having screw-threaded connection with the other disk, spiral gears on said bolts,5 and a shifting sleeve provided with rack bars which mesh with said gears.

'3. In a friction clutch, the combination,l with a friction ring, of two gripping disks positioned on opposite sides of the ring, bolts' mounted to rotate on one of the disks and having screw threaded connection with the other disk, spiral gears on said bolts,a hub on oneof the disks adapted to be fastened upon a shaft, guideways in said hub, rack bars mounted to slide in said guideways and having diagonally cut teeth in mesh wlth'the spiral gears, and a shifting sleeve to operate the rack bars.

4. In a friction clutch, the combination with-the `clutch members, of an operating mechanism comprising a longitudinally movable rack bar having diagonally cut teeth, a spiral gearin mesh with said teeth, :and means operated by saidl gear for actuating said members 5. In a friction clutch, the combination with the clutch members, of a revoluble member adapted to actuate said members, a spiral gear on said revoluble member, and a longitudinally movable rack bar parallel to the aXis of the revoluble member and having diagonally cut teeth in mesh with said gear.

` In testimony whereof I have allixed my Witnesses:

JOHN M. CONNELLY, SAML. THORP. 

